~wet foot~dry foot~
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 8:31 pm
we have a situation in the keys...many years of Cubans crossing the dangerous florida straits in a desperate attempt at freedom. they risk everything in heat and relentless killing sun with no fresh water. the gulf stream current which takes them out to sea forever. men, women, children. rafters in shark-infested waters who have a 30-70 chance of survival. one year the feds told us we could not give rafters water to drink. i told them to try to stop me, the law of the sea says you help to save life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cubans sent home after arrival at bridge piling
U.S. policy on 'wet-foot, dry-foot' called into question
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Fifteen Cubans who fled their homeland and landed on an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys were returned to their homeland Monday after U.S. officials concluded that the piling did not constitute dry land, authorities said.
Under the U.S. government's "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in the country, while those caught at sea are sent back.
Earlier Monday, officials said the Cubans were aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, as they awaited a final decision as to their status.
The historic Old Seven Mile Bridge, which runs side by side with a newer bridge, is missing several chunks, and the Cubans had the misfortune of reaching pilings from a section that no longer touches land.
The federal government said that means the group never actually reached U.S. territory, and could be sent home.
An attorney representing relatives of the Cubans had filed an emergency request Monday to prevent them from being sent back. The attorney asked the government to review the question of whether the bridge constitutes dry land.
The Cubans, including a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy, left Matanzas Province in Cuba late on the night of January 2 aboard a small, homemade boat. They were rescued by the Coast Guard from the base of the bridge just south of Marathon Key.
"The particular structure that they were found upon is not connected to land. The `bridge' is kind of a misnomer," said Coast Guard Lt. Commander Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the department's Southeast region.
O'Neil said officials in Washington determined the Cubans should be considered "feet wet," because they were not able to walk to land from where they landed.
At least a dozen Cuban-Americans protested the Cubans' situation Monday outside the Coast Guard headquarters in Miami Beach.
"They are trying to go as far as they can ... to take away the immigrants' rights," said Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, a Cuban-American advocacy group.
Veteran immigration attorney Ira Kurzban, who is not involved in the case, called the Coast Guard decision ridiculous.
"The wet-foot, dry-foot policy has no foundation in law," he said. Kurzban said the policy is inconsistent with U.S. and international law, noting that the federal government's jurisdiction extends beyond dry land to waters as far out as 100 miles (160 kilometers).
"International law says that refugees should be granted a hearing before they are forcibly returned," he said.
Cubans sent home after arrival at bridge piling
U.S. policy on 'wet-foot, dry-foot' called into question
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Fifteen Cubans who fled their homeland and landed on an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys were returned to their homeland Monday after U.S. officials concluded that the piling did not constitute dry land, authorities said.
Under the U.S. government's "wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, Cubans who reach dry land in the United States are usually allowed to remain in the country, while those caught at sea are sent back.
Earlier Monday, officials said the Cubans were aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, as they awaited a final decision as to their status.
The historic Old Seven Mile Bridge, which runs side by side with a newer bridge, is missing several chunks, and the Cubans had the misfortune of reaching pilings from a section that no longer touches land.
The federal government said that means the group never actually reached U.S. territory, and could be sent home.
An attorney representing relatives of the Cubans had filed an emergency request Monday to prevent them from being sent back. The attorney asked the government to review the question of whether the bridge constitutes dry land.
The Cubans, including a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy, left Matanzas Province in Cuba late on the night of January 2 aboard a small, homemade boat. They were rescued by the Coast Guard from the base of the bridge just south of Marathon Key.
"The particular structure that they were found upon is not connected to land. The `bridge' is kind of a misnomer," said Coast Guard Lt. Commander Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the department's Southeast region.
O'Neil said officials in Washington determined the Cubans should be considered "feet wet," because they were not able to walk to land from where they landed.
At least a dozen Cuban-Americans protested the Cubans' situation Monday outside the Coast Guard headquarters in Miami Beach.
"They are trying to go as far as they can ... to take away the immigrants' rights," said Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the Democracy Movement, a Cuban-American advocacy group.
Veteran immigration attorney Ira Kurzban, who is not involved in the case, called the Coast Guard decision ridiculous.
"The wet-foot, dry-foot policy has no foundation in law," he said. Kurzban said the policy is inconsistent with U.S. and international law, noting that the federal government's jurisdiction extends beyond dry land to waters as far out as 100 miles (160 kilometers).
"International law says that refugees should be granted a hearing before they are forcibly returned," he said.